The Girl I Left Behind
by GeezerWench
Summary: He's had a good run. A long career with Star Fleet. An adventure here and there. He's helped a few people, and other beings, along the way. Seen some fantastical things. Even died a couple of times. McCoy has few regrets. But one keeps hounding his mind—the girl he left behind. Star Trek:TOS / Twilight AU
1. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : (for fanfiction) **Derivative work. I make no money.

 **A/N:** Over on BetterinTexasFiction, a BiT member mentioned Dr. McCoy and Bella. Naturally, my first thought was Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the USS Enterprise. How was I supposed to know he meant X-Men?

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

"There was a girl … once." The frail, white-haired patient sighed wistfully.

"How did you meet her, Admiral McCoy?"

"Call me Leonard, son. Starfleet only made me an Admiral because I got so old, they didn't know what else to do with me. Guess they thought it was time to kick me upstairs. And don't call me _doctor_. You know I ain't a doctor no more—too damn forgetful and shaky. That's why I'm in _here_. Waitin' to die." McCoy's withered hand fell to the pale, striped, blue and white blanket draped over him.

He wasn't cold. Not like when he'd met _her_. It was never cold in the light and bright Little Old Admirals' Home. The blanket was a comfort, but the memory of her was more so.

Scowling at the orderly straightening his room … or was the young man a nurse? McCoy couldn't rightly remember and his eyesight had gotten so bad, he couldn't make out the insignia on the collar of his uniform.

"Young man, have a seat here. Ya asked me a question, and I got an answer." McCoy raised one white eyebrow at the youth. "And that's an order."

The man placed the vase of recently delivered flowers on a low dresser and sat where McCoy had indicated on the bed. "Yes, sir … uh, Ad—I mean, Doc—" He shook his head with a sheepish smile and sat down. "Yes, Leonard."

"That's good, son." The ancient Admiral wove his gnarled fingers together and rested them on his stomach. "I'd been married a couple times—had a few flings as young men will do—but I never forgot that girl." He sighed wearily again and slipped back into his memories.

Of a young woman who saved his life.

The girl he left behind.

.

-0-0-0-


	2. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 2

**Disclaimer** : Derivative work.

Also posted on BetterinTexasFiction. With a banner.

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

No matter where in the universe they were, weathermen lied.

The bastards.

The report had been for partly cloudy skies with a pleasant high temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit—20 Celsius. Late spring/early summer in the northern hemisphere of the colony planet Fragileous 9.

Stupid name for a planet. Not that anyone had asked Leonard McCoy's opinion.

The disconcerting fact he was standing in knee-deep snow and surrounded by very Earth-like pine trees covered in the white stuff added to his dismay.

That he wasn't dressed for it was just icing on the cake.

According to his tricorder, there wasn't another human, or even a cantankerous half-Vulcan, within miles of him. Not one person in the landing party was within range of the device.

Though there were some carbon-based lifeforms not too far away.

He hoped those lifeforms didn't have sharp teeth or razor-tipped tentacles.

The communicator was in place on his belt instead of buried in the snow where he'd wanted to chuck it. As with other missions on unfamiliar worlds, they couldn't leave anything behind. He didn't know where he was, so he wasn't taking any chances—no matter how irked he was at the infernal contraption.

It, and the tricorder, would assist a search party in finding him.

It was transmitting, but it wasn't receiving. Maybe there were no other transmissions _to_ receive.

One small comfort—he could breathe.

But the cold, dry air was already making his exposed skin itch and sting.

Another thing to be grateful for was he landed on solid ground—not a reptile-infested swamp.

A swamp would have been warmer.

Had the rest of the team transported down and been scattered across the globe? As long as it hadn't dispersed their atoms across the great void of space …

All his own seemed to be where they were supposed to be, but he sure didn't know where the hell he was.

Was he even on the right world?

His innate distrust of the transporters was reaffirmed again.

He snorted. Leave the _Enterprise_ on a simple, humanitarian mission and end up God knows where.

Stranger things had happened. He probably wasn't in the same sector of space he'd started out in.

He stared at the device in his hands and was baffled by the read-out—when he could force himself to stop shivering long enough to decipher it. If he didn't know better, and he probably didn't, he would have sworn he was on Earth. Or a ball of rock so similar it made no difference. Fragileous 9 was very earth-like or it wouldn't have been colonized, but it wasn't a duplicate!

He'd come to the conclusion he wasn't where he was supposed to be.

All those years in medical school and Starfleet Academy hadn't been a complete waste.

 _We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto._

Flipping open his communicator, he scowled at its pre-programmed annoyingly cheerful chirp. It hadn't worked the first time he tried it, why would he think he'd have any better luck a second time? Crossly, he slapped it back onto his belt.

He didn't know yet how long the days were, but judging by the position of the bright round light in the sky, that happened to be very like the Earth's own sun, it was well past mid-day. Not that it mattered a hoot, but if he didn't find shelter, he would be a human popsicle long before that pretty yellow sun set.

Peering up through the forest canopy, a disgusted sigh escaped him. Damned if there weren't clouds moving in. Wherever in all of the vast universe he was, he'd bet those heavy, leaden clouds meant more snow was on the way.

Assuming he was in the northern hemisphere … and he was making a lot of assumptions and should know better … he would head south and hope for the best.

Shivering and slogging through the snow would help warm him, but not enough. With his luck, maybe he should just hope for a quick, painless death.

The tricorder _appeared_ to be working correctly. He registered as a very cold human male whose temperature was dropping rapidly.

Why was it showing him readings that meant he was on Earth?

He was a doctor, not an engineer! If Scotty was there, he'd be able to figure out if the confounded devil-devices were working correctly.

Even that Vulcan. Spock probably knew more about the instruments, and the ship, than anyone else on board, though it pained McCoy to admit it.

As much as the pointy-eared Science Officer got his goat, he knew Spock would be searching for him. The Captain would be leading the charge.

Would they delay handing off the sorely-needed medical supplies to search for him?

Spock knew as much about the medicines and equipment as McCoy did, and would have no problem with it.

Knowing James Kirk like he did, they'd hold off on the delivery in order to hunt for the very misplaced ship's Chief Medical Officer.

A little worried voice in his head was urging them to hurry. A surgeon losing his fingers to frostbite would be bad for business.

Just as he took his first unsteady step south, a sizable something zipped past him so fast the wind created by its velocity spun him around and flung him into a snowdrift.

McCoy wasn't a religious man, but he began to fervently pray that whatever flew by him at near light speed was moving fast enough to not notice him and didn't have fangs and claws.

Or tentacles.

A pang of regret wormed its way through him as he thought about the phasers left behind on the _Enterprise_.

.

-0-0-0-


	3. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 3

**Disclaimer** : (because it's the right thing to do). Derivative work.

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

Buried beneath an unknown quantity of the White Death, McCoy laid there for a moment to get his bearings before he began fighting his way upward and cursing under his breath.

"Not only am I lost on some God-forsaken, snow-infested world … _alone_ … now I'm going to be all wet!" He burst out of the frozen fluff and staggered forward, brushing as much of it from his clothes as he could. He could barely speak, his teeth were chattering so hard. "Tellarities toes! I'm beginning to hate this stuff!"

He shook more snow from his hair. "Probably some kind of fire-breathing, snarling, gigantic, hungry bear-thing ran past me, looking for its dinner." Patting himself down, he was mildly relieved to learn he still had his communicator and tricorder. "It'll eat me so I won't live long enough to freeze to death," he grumbled.

He blew into his hands in a futile attempt to warm them. Forcing one cold and stiff leg forward, he finally looked up to determine some sort of path and nearly fell on his face.

Standing not ten feet away from him was a person. Or what he thought was a person. Humanoid—dressed in a puffy, calf-length parka. Though it was hard to tell due to the depth of the snow.

Or maybe the being had a cylindrical shape and the coat wasn't as insulated as he thought it was.

He didn't care; he still wished he had a coat like that—or any kind of covering at all.

Beneath the snow, he could imagine the human-shaped being was wearing thick, warm pants and moisture proof boots, too.

A wistful moan escaped him.

Then he took in the long, shining, deep brown hair that cascaded in curling waves out of the fur-trimmed hood. Golden amber eyes, framed by thick, dark lashes, displayed puzzled disbelief, and full, rose-pink lips formed an "O" of surprise.

It wasn't a slavering bear-thing. It was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. Well, if it _was_ a girl. Maybe she was the planet's _equivalent_ of a big bad bear-thing and he was about to be torn to bloody ribbons.

That would _not_ be a painless death.

She sure looked like a girl. A gorgeous girl in a big beautiful coat.

Death at the hands of such a creature might not be so bad. He was so cold; he most likely wouldn't feel it much anyway.

"What are you _doing_ out here?"

McCoy was so astonished by the being's sudden appearance, and that she hadn't killed him yet, it took him a moment to realize she had spoken.

His brain decided to let him in on a little detail he hadn't noticed at first—she had spoken in English.

He honestly tried to tell her he was lost—he couldn't divulge who or what he was—but his mouth was so rigid from the cold, all that came out was a mushy grunt.

"Oh! You're freezing!" The young woman's hands flew to the collar of her parka and she yanked the zipper down. "I'm sorry! I forgot for a minute that … uh, well, anyway, you must be freezing!"

She shucked it off, and in the next instant had it wrapped around him. "I was just so shocked to see you. There shouldn't _be_ any humans out here."

McCoy's sharp, medically-trained eye discerned the fact she was decidedly _not_ barrel-shaped. Quite the opposite in fact.

She was wearing a dark green sweater. It, too, was quite lovely.

He'd always liked girls in sweaters.

Said girl was briskly rubbing her hands up and down his arms through the padding. "I've got to get you inside somewhere. It's going to snow again and there are wolves … I think I know a place."

"You-you're g-going to f-freeze," McCoy managed to stutter. He wasn't a large man, but he was too big for her to carry. The woman would die trying to help him. He couldn't allow that.

"Don't worry about me." Her radiant smile made his breath catch and his heart go pitty-pat. Or was that the sub-freezing temperatures? "This kind of weather doesn't really bother me. The winter gear is just for show anyway."

The warmth-creating friction halted and she backed away from him, her eyes going wide. She gulped and slapped her hands over her mouth.

McCoy must have already been suffering the effects of hypothermia. Had he heard her right? She'd called him a _human_. The winter gear was just for show? Thoroughly confused, he was going to ask her what she meant but all he got out was a muffled "urp" before his vision greyed out and he started to fall.

.

-0-0-0-


	4. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 4

Derivative work. I make no money.

09/24/2015, 03/28/2016

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

McCoy awoke slowly, feeling warm and cozy. A wonder-full fragrance graced his nose and he inhaled deeply. Something about it reminded him of home when he was a boy.

Shattering his comfy and very narrow world, he remembered extremities aching then going numb, and expecting to die, and was pleasantly surprised he hadn't.

Compared to other manners of death, freezing wasn't a _terrible_ way to go.

Or so he had read.

But dying lost and alone …

Something else tickled at his memory. That perfume, or whatever it was, brought to mind tawny eyes and long, deep brown hair touched with hints of chestnut.

He hadn't been alone.

It all came flooding back in a rush: the mission to deliver medical supplies; somehow being separated from Jim, Spock, and the rest of landing party.

Blasted transporter!

Bitterly cold temperatures and thigh deep snow instead of temperate climes, grassy hills, and dinners with pretty ladies and stuffy politicians. Or maybe it was stuffy ladies and pretty politicians.

The girl—the woman—who had given him her coat.

He bolted upright. He was inside a small rustic building. At first glance, it was like an old cabin he had stayed in once on a fishing trip with his father when he was a boy.

Who had brought him to the cabin?

He guardedly searched the dimly lit room, trying to find the young woman who had sacrificed her own physical comfort to save his life. He knew the signs—he wouldn't have lasted much longer outside.

He was on some sort of low cot and the thick parka was bunched in his lap. She must have covered him with it. Even without it, he wasn't shivering.

The reason for that was across the room near the corner—an old-fashioned pot-bellied stove with a bright, crackling fire inside. On its flat top, wisps of steam rose from a cast-iron dutch oven. He hadn't seen one of those since he'd last visited his Granny in Georgia.

In the corner opposite of the cheery fire was a door with a small, square window. Night had fallen. Just beyond, another window was draped with pale-colored curtains.

In the center of the next wall, not far from the door, sat a sturdy table big enough for two. A dusty oil lamp sporting a flickering frame was the centerpiece.

McCoy jerked in surprise again when he discovered the girl sitting in one of two well-worn wooden chairs.

With a tentative smile, she crossed her legs and folded her hands in her lap. The material of her pants was a faded blue.

Was a denim-like fabric a staple on _every_ world?

"My name is Bella. What's yours?"

The melody of her words tugged at something buried within him, and he couldn't resist leaning forward, longing to be closer. Why hadn't he noticed it before? His ears must have been iced up.

"Uh, my name is … my name is Leonard McCoy, ma'am." He cleared his throat loudly. He'd almost referred to himself as _doctor_.

The ethereal tone of perfectly tuned bells sounded throughout the little cabin and resonated down to his very bones. It took him another moment to realize it was her soft laughter.

"You don't need to call me _ma'am_. Just Bella works."

Her smile broadened and she smoothed her hair away from her face.

Was it as soft as it looked?

"It's nice to meet you, Leonard. You've been asleep for hours. I bet you're thirsty." She pointed toward the wood stove. "I cleaned out the pot and melted some snow in it for water. It's kind of hot now, but I could put some more snow in it to cool it down. If you're hungry, I found some things called MRE's in the cupboard here." She gestured at the rickety cabinets above the table. "I think that stands for Meals Ready to Eat. I don't know how long they've been in there, but I read somewhere they last practically forever. There are a couple beef-a-ronis and a chicken parmesan."

Those were decidedly Earth-like names for food. "M … uh, B-Bella? Could I ask where we are?" McCoy clutched at the parka. Feeling exposed, he couldn't stop himself from inching it up his chest.

He couldn't take his eyes off her either.

"Wow, you really _are_ lost." More graceful than any ballerina, Bella rose from the simple wooden chair. She picked up a speckled bowl Leonard hadn't noticed before and practically floated across the floor to the only door.

His grandmother had had bowls like that. She'd called them spatterware.

And could he _please_ keep his mind on the subject at hand?

"We're in the Yukon Territory. I guess about fifty miles or so southwest of Eagle Plains—I _think_. I'll be right back."

She went quickly through the door and returned within moments, the bowl heaped high with snow. She emptied it into the kettle. After grabbing two mugs from the table, that had the same navy blue and white-spotted pattern as the bowl, she dipped first one, then the other in the darkened pot.

Leonard was still grappling with his bewilderment as he watched her take a sip from her mug while she set the other on a low table next to his cot. Bella smiled reassuringly and nodded at him as she backed toward her chair and sat down, placing her cup on the table.

She'd said they were in the Yukon Territory. That was in Canada—on Earth. He'd been there once on a vacation.

There was no way he was on Earth. He _couldn't_ be. The _Enterprise_ had been more than ten parsecs away.

Colonists often recycled names of places where they had originated from, but there were beginning to be too many coincidences.

Maybe they weren't coincidences.

While his thoughts ricocheted around his head, he shoved the parka off his lap and spotted his tricorder. He aimed it at the mug as he shifted around and planted his booted feet on an oval-shaped braided rug.

Bella's insulated pants fell to the wooden plank floor. She'd laid them over him as well.

"That's water," he exclaimed incredulously. Without thought, he pointed the device toward Bella. "That table is wood. It's pine. The walls are cedar." He gaped at the read-out and the instrument fell from his nerveless fingers. "You … you're not human. You're a _vampire_."

.

-0-0-0-


	5. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 5

09/26/2015, 03/28/2016

Derivative work. No money is made by me.

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

Bella's puzzled curiosity morphed to wide-eyed shock. She gulped and grabbed the hem of her sweater, worrying the edge.

"How do you … what makes you … why …?" Her shoulders slumped and she hung her head in defeat. "How do you know? I won't hurt you," she whispered. " _Please_ don't be afraid of me."

She peeked up at McCoy through those long lashes and the wretched look on her face nearly broke his heart.

"I was just trying to help. You were going to die out there—I could hear your heartbeat slowing down, and the wolves … I didn't know where to take you, but I'd seen this hunting cabin before and—" She took a deep breath and the floodgates opened. "I couldn't take you back to the Cullens'. It's too far, and you would have frozen. I didn't want to see … I had to get away from that stupid jerk Edward, and when Alice said they were all going back-to-school shopping— _again_ —well, something just—"

In a blur of motion, she was up and pacing across the small room, her hands flashing back and forth. "Well, not _all_ of them—just Edward and Alice, as usual. Carlisle was at the hospital, Rose and Emmett were with Esme at that house in town they're remodeling, and I don't know where Jasper was, but he said he wasn't _ever_ going back to high school again. I said I wasn't either, because I've already been twice, and then Edward got all huffy and said he'd _decided_ we were going and that was _that. My_ intelligent reply was 'oh, yeah?'" She groaned and rolled her eyes in disgust. "Brilliant, I know. After they left, I smashed his stupid, shiny piano and threw that ugly engagement ring right in the middle of it. That bullshit _wedding_ ring is somewhere in the Denali National Forest."

She jerked to a stop in front of the door and spun around, fists propped on her hips, and her hair swirling around her shoulders. "I probably should have kept them and melted them down."

The fire in her eyes died and the look of rebellion slid from her face when she saw the slack-jawed incomprehension on Leonard's.

"I'm sorry. I _swear_ I won't hurt you." Once again, her shoulders drooped, and she dejectedly trudged back to her chair and dropped onto it. "Oh, crap! You know I'm a vampire. What are we going to do?" There was a pleading note to her voice, and she hid her face in her hands. "Humans aren't supposed to know the secret. Now, I have to—"

"Kill me or turn me?" McCoy asked in the gentlest voice he could muster.

Who _were_ all those people she just mentioned? He didn't know who she'd been venting her spleen about, but he could tell when someone had reached the end of their rope. Some of those people—or vampires—were obviously causing her distress. Had she been held against her will? He didn't know. What he _did_ know was he felt compelled to help her.

She was staring at him and her mouth was hanging open. She snapped it shut. "How … how do you know that? If you know about vampires, how are you still human and alive?"

"Bella, I … first—" He dragged his hand down his face. His throat was so dry. He grabbed the enameled mug from the night table and drained it. The melted snow was a little on the warm side, but it was delicious.

Since she was a vampire, he knew she hadn't really taken a sip of her own cup of water. She'd done that for his benefit. To show him it wasn't poisoned?

Would she let him have more?

"Where are we? I mean, what planet is this?"

There it was. He knew that look. When her wide golden eyes narrowed with suspicion, he knew she thought he was insane. _She_ would know there would be no way he could hurt her.

"This is the Earth, Leonard," she said cautiously. "We're in the Yukon Territory of Canada, north of the United States. On Earth." She dipped her head slightly and peered more intently at him. "Are you feeling all right? Were you beaten up and left in the woods? I didn't notice any injuries. Maybe you should eat something."

"I feel pretty good, actually." He patted his thighs and blew out a breath. "No, I wasn't beaten. What's the date?"

Her eyebrows drew together in concern. "Are you sure you weren't smacked in the head? It's the sixth of October, twenty-ten." She cocked her head to the side. "It also happens to be National Mad Hatter Day. In the United States, it is. It's one of Emmett's fav—" she cut herself off. "Why? What date do _you_ think it is?"

Strangely, shocked as he was, he believed her. "No, I wasn't hit on the head."

It was two thousand and ten on his home planet. If he remembered correctly, Canada was a large, mostly unpopulated country at the time. Man hadn't even set foot on Mars yet.

It would be fifty-three years before the first extraterrestrial ship landed on Earth. Of course, it had to be those cussed Vulcans. He'd most likely live long enough to greet the green-blooded, bull-headed, snooping aliens.

He shook his head in consternation. It would be one hundred and fifty-one years before Starfleet came into existence.

A mere two hundred and seventeen years before his _birth_.

He wouldn't make it to _that_ birthday celebration.

Kirk and Spock would never find him. He'd never get back to the _Enterprise_.

How would he survive? It wasn't like he could walk into a hospital and start doctoring people. And the archaic way they used to cut into and invade the human body made him shudder.

The only person he knew wasn't even a human, and _she_ happened to be one of the deadliest creatures on the planet.

Truly, he wasn't concerned about that. Bella might have been a predator, but she hadn't hurt him yet, and she was also the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

Sighing in resignation, he scrubbed at his face and leaned back against the rough-hewn wall. "Well, Bella, I have something to tell you that you're going to find pretty hard to believe."

.

-0-0-0-


	6. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 6

09/28/2015

 **Disclaimer** : Derivative work. Blah, blah, blah. If I made money at this, I'd have a bigger computer.

Also posted on BetterinTexasFiction, AO3, and TWCS.

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

"Okay, Leonard. I've been told I'm good with weird. Before you tell your story, let me get some more wood in here."

"No, let me—"

She was back with a huge arm-load, and was placing it in a circular wrought-iron holder near the stove, before he even had a chance to display his chivalrous side.

"There's firewood stacked on the porch, and _you_ need to eat," she commanded, dropping one of the MREs next to him on the narrow cot. She darted across the room again and brought him another mug of water. "I think there might be instant coffee in that food pack."

"How about you?" McCoy lifted the plastic-sealed block and studied it. "Don't you need to, er, eat or something?"

Bella was already kneeling in front of the pot belly stove, pushing in more split logs and stabbing at them with a long-handled poker.

She glanced over her shoulder. "You don't have to worry. I'm a vampire, but I don't feed on humans. I, and my fa—my former _associates_ —drink animal blood." She turned back to the fire and jabbed at the flaming wood and hot coals with a bit more force than absolutely necessary. "I, uh, ate yesterday. Well, I guess it was the day before. I'm good for a couple of weeks."

After closing the ventilated door, she moved rather sedately back to her chair across the room, brushing her hands off on her jeans. She flipped her hair to her back and settled onto her chair. "Well, Leonard, I never believed in vampires either, but hey, look!" she said, grinning and spreading her arms wide. "Over the last few years, I've seen, and experienced, a lot of things I never would have believed if they hadn't happened to me." With a thoughtful frown and a pat at her right wrist, she sadly sighed, but then a small smile graced her face. "Lay it on me! But eat something first. I can wait."

McCoy nodded and opened the package. He was beginning to think he'd do anything she asked. Not that she'd asked for more than his trust. And he did trust her. He didn't know why, but he did.

Was he merely being drawn in by the allure of a pretty face?

He didn't want to admit he'd been swayed once or twice in that manner.

Or was it because she had been taking care of him instead of making him the main course? If she had, no one would ever have known. Maybe she was just trying to lure him into a false sense of security.

No. He didn't believe that.

If she had wanted him for supper, she'd had plenty of opportunity.

Wait. How had she gotten him to the cabin?

"Um, Bella? How did you get me back here?"

"When you passed out, I caught you and carried you."

"You? Carried me?"

"Yes." One finely shaped brow arched and she pointed at him. "If you know about vampires, you _should_ know they're very strong. If I wanted to, I could pick up a car, like a shiny Volvo, and toss it. Probably should have." She crossed her arms and gave him such a stern look; it would have unnerved a braver man than he. "Eat."

McCoy didn't know what a _Volvo_ was, but he knew what a car was, and he wasn't a _complete_ fool. He recognized a direct order when he was given one.

Halfway through the beef-a-roni, that wasn't half bad, he took a drink of the water she'd gotten for him and looked up at her anxiously. His curiosity was prodding at him. As they say, curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back. There _was_ that small matter of the rings she'd apparently disposed of. "You mentioned wedding and engagement rings? Won't your husband worry about you?" He sincerely hoped there wasn't a husband involved.

"Ug. Edward." Bella groaned and dropped her forehead into her palm. "If he could, he'd call out the National Guard. Or the Mounties, I guess. He still thinks I'm helpless." She shook her head.

"We're not really married—not legally—and I don't think I want to talk to _him_ again for a very long time. Well, he talks _at_ me more than he talks _to_ me. Jasper, he's my … I guess he's like my brother-in-law … reminded me a few years ago that Edward lied about his name, date of birth, and Social Security number on the marriage license application. They _all_ have. That's his coat and snow pants, by the way. Jasper's, not Edward's. They were closest to the door." Her pretty lips curled into a devious smirk. "That tiny technical detail about names and birthdates didn't stop me from opening several accounts in my chosen names—that Edward can't touch. Jasper helped with that, too. _Edward_ didn't think I needed to have my own, being the little wifey and all." She turned her nose up into the air. "No proper lady concerns herself with such mundane things as money."

Her smile grew rigid and the warm honey of her eyes hardened to a glinting topaz. It made McCoy shiver. "As Emmett would say, 'I ain't no lady.' Jasper and Alice steered me toward a few investments and urged me to become part or majority owner of a couple lucrative businesses. That Edward is _also_ unaware of." She huffed on her nails and buffed them on her sweater. "So, now, how do you know about vampires?"

.

-0-0-0-


	7. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 7

**Disclaimer** : Derivative work. I make no money.

Also posted on BetterinTexasFiction, TWCS, and AO3.

09/30/2015

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

McCoy let go of the breath he'd been holding when Bella said she wasn't married. He found he was more than a little thankful for that tidbit of information.

It would be utterly pointless to survive an icy death only to be shot by a jealous husband.

Not that a vampire would _need_ to shoot him. He'd read the file.

Internally, he chastised himself. Bella didn't look more than twenty. He was old enough to be her father! He couldn't forget they weren't even the same species … though she had been human _once_.

Bella could, potentially, live for several thousand years or more, while being in his current situation without the medical advances of the twenty-third century, he'd probably live only another fifty or sixty years.

If he was lucky.

Then again, from what he'd read in the report, she could be older than him!

McCoy decided his interest in the young woman was merely gratitude for saving his life. The end had been closer than he cared to admit, and he was acting like an old besotted fool. She was just being nice to him—saving him from an early death and all. His current task was to answer her questions. In the meantime, maybe he'd find out more about her _former_ _associates_.

She was young, vibrant, and pretty. That's all it was. The fact her eyes, hair, and smooth skin nearly glowed in the low firelight had nothing to do with it.

Nothing at all.

As he opened his mouth to speak, Bella held up her hand.

"Wait a minute. I know this might sound weird, but I have to ask."

She looked down at her fingers nervously twisting themselves together in her lap. "Do you need to use the _facilities_? There's an outhouse out back behind this cabin. While you were sleeping, I cleared a path to it and checked it for, um, toilet tissue."

Funny, but McCoy had the impression if she could blush she'd have been beet red right about then. He shook his head. "Thank you for thinking of me. I'll let you know." He was a little embarrassed himself.

Bella brushed a curling lock of hair behind her ear and picked at her sweater again. "Um, while we're on the subject of uncomfortable topics, I don't recognize the material of your clothes. I mean, your shirt is a very _nice_ blue—it matches your eyes—but it isn't polyester or anything. Not that I'm an authority on fabrics … And the triangle, er, arrow head thing … _symbol_ is, uh, nice."

She squeezed her eyes closed and blew out a breath. "Okay, so I don't mean to offend you or anything, but … did you maybe … _get away_ from …?" Her hands flew up to cover her face. "Oh, God, I'm screwing this up!"

Slapping her hands down onto her knees, she squared her shoulders and met his eyes. "Let me try this again. When I was human and met some vampires, if I had told anyone, they'd have thought I was crazy. I'd have been heavily medicated and locked up in a padded cell. You say you know about vampires. Did you tell the wrong person? Were you committed and then escape? Do you feel better now because the drugs wore off? I mean, if they were drugging you that would explain why you don't know where you are or what day it is." She frowned. "But that doesn't explain why you would ask what planet this is. Who _asks_ that?"

Her fingers went back to trying to strangle each other. "I'm sorry. Did I offend you? Your clothes didn't feel like … Uh, they kinda look like a uniform with the gold thing on the chest and the stripes on the sleeves. So, were you in a hospital?" Bella's shoulders inched up as her voice rose higher. They slumped and she dropped her head. "I'm sorry. I don't normally talk so much. It's just—if you told somebody you saw vampires and they locked you up … Did I hurt your feelings?"

After that machinegun burst of questions, McCoy was struggling to digest it all. Her observation that his shirt matched his eyes led him along a merry path for a while. He rather liked that she noticed.

Finally sorting it all out, he chuckled at the thought he was an escapee from some kind of institution. If he were in her shoes, what would _he_ think? "No, Bella, you didn't hurt my feelings, and I didn't escape from a hospital. There's a vampire in Star Fleet. To familiarize myself with his species, I read his file. I haven't met him."

"A vampire in _Star_ Fleet? Is it like the Navy?"

"In a manner of speaking. Being here … _now_ … I'm like a stranger in a strange land."

"Oh! I've read that book. But wait, the guy was a human raised on another—" Bella's mouth clamped shut and her eyes grew as round as half dollars. "Were you raised by vampires and they lost you? Is that why …? No. If you _had_ been, you would have realized I was one. Holy crap! Was it _aliens_!?"

.

-0-0-0-


	8. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 8

10/03/2015

 **Disclaimer** : Derivative work. I make no money.

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

Startled, McCoy nearly dropped his food when Bella sprang to her feet. _Aliens_ had more to do with it than she realized.

"Wow. Since vampires are real there _could_ be aliens. There might even be elves and Hobbits. We just haven't seen them yet!" Her hands were up in the air, but then flopped to her sides. She studied her confounded guest. "Unless _you've_ seen them," she accused.

McCoy shook his head. "No. No Hobbits." _On Earth_ , he added in his mind.

"Humans aren't supposed to know about vampires, but I happen to know about a human who works for some. Probably more than just _her_ , too. I bet they do that all the time—breaking their own rules." Bella was staring with concentration at the narrow ladder that led to the room above them.

McCoy wondered idly if it was a bedroom or just a storage space. Since he'd awoken, he hadn't really examined anything but Bella.

She spun to face him. "Is Star Fleet a special-ops military thing like the Rangers or Navy Seals? Go on secret missions and stuff? Vampires would make good spies. Jasper and Emmett would love that! Except Emmett tends to break things a lot and is kind of noisy for a vampire, but he's a whiz with computers."

McCoy was admiring the girl's excited movements with rapt attention. "Emmett?" slipped out before he clamp his mouth shut.

"He's my brother. _Edward_ always said we spent too much time together. Well, Edward can shove Emmett's Jeep up his …" Lips pressed into a straight line, she emitted a low growl-like sound. Soon, a smile reappeared and she cocked her head to the side. "Who makes the crop circles?"

Warm, honey-gold eyes twinkling, hair shining like satin, McCoy was transfixed.

He suddenly realized she'd asked him yet another question. "Uh … crop circles? I heard bored vampires made them to tease the humans."

"Sounds like something _Emmett_ would do. So … a vampire in the fleet?"

Rubbing at the back of his neck, he peered up at her. "It's all kind of convoluted, so I'll go the simple route."

"Okay, Leonard. I'm sorry again. It's just the thought of aliens is so … so …" Bella shrugged her shoulders and retook her seat. "But vampires would seem like aliens to humans. I'll be quiet and listen. I guess I'm kind of wound up. The last few days … Well, honestly, the last few _years_ …" Her voice trailed off and her face took on a pensive look. She shook it off and smiled at him. "Anyway, a vampire in the service? Okay, I'll hold my questions until the end. You go ahead," she said with an encouraging wave of her hand.

"It's not common knowledge there's a vampire in Star Fleet. It was before my time, but I heard he showed up one day and asked to join up. He allowed himself to be studied in exchange for our discretion." Sipping at his cup of melted snow, McCoy was more than curious about what troubles Bella may have had with that Edward person. Perhaps he'd learn more as they got to know each other, but it was time for him to tell her a little about himself.

He grasped the mug with both hands, deciding he didn't need to mention his ex-wife. "Bella, I was born in Georgia in the year twenty-two twenty-seven. I went to medical school in Mississippi and became a doctor. After that, I enlisted in Star Fleet Academy. It's not a secret military organization. When I graduated from there, I was deployed to a planet named Capella IV where my medical expertise went unappreciated. Soon afterwards, I was stationed on the starship _USS Enterprise_. Our mission is to explore space, discover new worlds and peoples—learn more about the universe. We offer aid where we can." After another drink, he said, "I'm the Chief Medical Officer on the ship."

Bella was watching him intently. It had to seem a pretty preposterous story to her. At least she hadn't started laughing in his face. He didn't think she would.

Her continued silence unnerved him. He took a gulp of water. "A few of the crew and I were on a mission to deliver medical supplies and equipment to the planet Fragileous 9. On our way there, I … got lost." He shrugged. "In space _and_ in time. I'm more than two centuries and thirty light years away from where I was."

More silence, then, "You're from the _future_ ," she stated evenly. Bella blinked several times and sat back in her chair, eyebrows drawing together in thought. She propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her fist. After a slow breath, she asked, "How did you get lost? Did your space sh… uh, _star_ ship crash?"

The utter calm in which she asked those questions was even more unsettling. She _was_ good with weird. Maybe she was just humoring him.

"Er, no. Well, not as far as I know. I hope not. The _Enterprise_ doesn't land on planets. We have a device we call a transporter that we use to … ahh … the technician enters in the coordinates where we want to go. It sort of takes apart our atoms, sends them through space, and, hopefully, puts us back together at the place we want to go. Except this time I ended up _here_. I don't know how that happened."

He never realized how difficult it would be to explain what a transporter does.

Bella was nodding. "Like transfer booths in science fiction? It turns you into something like a radio signal and beams it to a particular place? "

That term sounded familiar. His whole face brightened when he remembered. "Yes! Only we don't need a special booth to transmit to. The transporter can set us almost anywhere on a planet, even inside a building, and it can find us and bring us back to the ship." A smile spread across his face. "We call it beaming up or down."

"And _we_ have cell phones that don't work if there's a mountain in the way." She huffed. "They don't even work if you're in a basement." She leaned back and dug in a pocket. "I have my phone, but I turned it off. There's probably a thousand messages and texts from Edward, and I just _don't_ want to hear it." She wiggled a flat, rectangular object at him. "Jasper, Rose, and Emmett said some other brand was better, but Edward _insisted_ we get the iPhones. Like Alice, he's all about the most expensive or the biggest name. As soon as I can, I'm going to crush this one and get something _I_ want."

If McCoy asked, he was sure she'd tell him more about all those people she mentioned. He'd find out soon enough. It wasn't like they didn't have time. He tugged his communicator from his belt and flipped it open. "Annoying sound—that chirp. This is like your phone. We call them communicators. If I was in the right _time_ , the ship would be able to find me. As it is, it's sending, but there isn't anyone out there to receive. Yet."

Bella was nodding slightly when her eyes suddenly flew open. "Oh, crap! I forgot all about the GPS!"

.

-0-0-0-


	9. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 9

10/06/2015

 **Disclaimer** : Derivative work. I make no money.

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

Bella fumbled with her phone for a few seconds before she had it apart and plucked some part from its insides. After a loud crackling crunch, a glittery dark-colored powder drifted to the floor. "Whew," she breathed out. "I forgot all about that! There aren't any cell towers around here, but he might be able to find a way to track the phone."

The smile she displayed was radiant. " _Now_ he can't find me!"

Alarmed, McCoy leaned forward. "Are you afraid of him? Has he hurt you?" He didn't know what he could do, but if Edward had harmed Bella in some form or fashion, McCoy would find a way to teach the bastard a lesson in how to treat ladies.

With a very unladylike snort, Bella started laughing. "Edward? He'd have to touch me to hurt me!"

The laugh grew louder and filled the room with an ethereal music. When her hilarity calmed to throaty chuckles, she took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes. "No, I'm not afraid of him. I guess I was just afraid of myself. Anyway, whenever he went hunting, or shopping with Alice, Jasper taught us how to fight. We had to sneak it in since I wasn't _allowed_ to do such things. It usually ended up with Jasper and Emmett rolling around in the mud, but I learned a lot." She raised her head in a proud pose. "Jasper said I 'could whup Edward's ass with both hands and one foot tied behind my back.'"

Relieved she hadn't been abused, at least physically, McCoy returned her smile and scooted to the edge of the cot. He rose stiffly, mug in hand.

"I could get that for you," Bella offered.

"No. I need to move around. I'm stiff from sleeping so long." He made slow progress to the little stove, working out the kinks in his legs and back. Dipping a cupful from the dutch oven and taking another drink gave him a few moments to think.

Bella seemed rather unhappy with her non-husband, and McCoy was beginning to get an inkling about why. He didn't want her to have her own money or be able to defend herself? Even in the twenty-first century in America, that seemed absurdly archaic. But he was assuming she was as young as she looked. He really had no clue how old she may have been.

A quiet cough dragged him from his thoughts, and he gave her his full attention.

"Okay, Leonard-from-the-future, tell me about this vampire that joined Starfleet. Who is he? What does he do? What do you know about him?"

McCoy was taken aback at how Bella seemed to just roll with everything he'd been saying. He didn't think he'd met a more accepting being anywhere—Vulcan Science Officers excluded. She was so much more pleasant to be around than Spock.

Prettier, too.

To steer his mind away from _how_ pretty, McCoy went to the window in the center of the wall on his way back to his cot and pushed the coarsely woven curtains aside. All he could see was black, except for the occasional swirl of snowflakes drifting by the glass.

"The story I heard was he just sauntered into Starfleet's front office one day like he owned the place. Alarms were going off because he wasn't recognized as human or any other known alien race. He planted himself in front of the receptionist, spread his arms wide and said, 'Take me to your leader.' Of course, he was surrounded by a force field and several guards pointing ph … uh, weapons at him, but he never even blinked. They say he just grinned at them." McCoy leaned one hand on the window sill and chuckled. "The Admiral at the time came down from his office and Garrett asked him, 'Where do I sign up?' as he was whisked away—with a full contingent of guards. It's said he's a real character, though none of that is in his official file. There _is_ a picture of him in my tricorder."

Dropping the curtain, McCoy limped slightly as he went back to his cot to retrieve the device. "It's been a while since I read it. He'd said humans weren't supposed to know about them, and there was a group of vampires in charge who enforced that law. They're called Vulturoes or something like that, and I think they're in Spain or Italy. He said he'd let Starfleet study him if they kept him a secret, let him go through the academy, and serve on a star ship. Not many in Starfleet know about him."

He poked at the tricorder a few times, reading through its display. "I have access to some of his records because I have a high security clearance, and ya never know when I might run across another one." He gave her a quick smile. "But I don't know where he is or what ship he might be on." With a disgusted grunt, he smacked the side of the box-shaped device. "Confounded thing won't let me see the file without a retina scan."

Eyes wide, he grimaced as a line of red light flashed over his face. "Satisfied?" he asked it. Still grumbling, he went back to tapping and reading. "Said his name was Garrett, but he couldn't remember if that was his first or last name, so he called himself …hmmm, _here_ it is. Garrett Richardson! Born in Massachusetts in 1750. Served in the Revolutionary War and was turned into a vampire in 1780. He was a mere four hundred and sixty-five years old when he joined Starfleet in 2215."

McCoy took three steps toward Bella to show her the picture on the tricorder and jerked to a stop. She was eerily still and her face was blank. He took another step. She still didn't move.

Refreshing his memory with a glance at the report, he recalled that vampires could hold a position indefinitely, appearing as unmoving as statues. Or that's what Garrett had told them. Supposedly, he'd also demonstrated the ability.

Since McCoy had awakened, Bella had been in motion—fetching wood, getting him a drink, fidgeting with nerves. She had blinked and brushed at her hair, crossed her legs—just like any human would, since they were almost never completely motionless. If the tricorder hadn't let him in on her secret, he doubted he would have figured it out any time soon.

Wide eyes just stared up at him. He didn't think she was breathing either. Not that they needed to.

How convenient would that be at times?

One more step and he could have reached out and touched her. Watching cautiously, he held the tricorder right in front of her face. "Here's his picture."

No reaction.

McCoy was becoming concerned. Had she suddenly taken ill? From what he could remember of the report, vampires didn't get sick.

"Are you okay? Do you need something?" McCoy leaned closer and peered into her eyes. Was she still in there? "Bella?"

When he decided to try giving her shoulder a little shake, she blinked and her eyes moved to meet his.

She swallowed and blinked again. "Was there a woman … a female vampire with him?"

He let out a relieved breath when she finally spoke, but he was puzzled by the small, flat tone of voice. McCoy cocked his head to the side. "No. He was alone. Or no one ever mentioned a fe … a woman."

"Huh." Bella leaned back in her chair. "I know him."

.

-0-0-0-


	10. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 10

10/10/2015

 **Disclaimer** : Derivative work. Obviously.

Also posted on BetterinTexasFiction (they get it first), AO3, and TWCS.

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

Would wonders never cease?

Bella was taking his news of being from the future, and his talk of weapons, force fields, and aliens like a champ, and _McCoy_ was flabbergasted she happened to know the vampire that had joined Starfleet.

Or would in the future. He refused to let himself get sidetracked by all the riddles and conundrums of time travel and possible futures.

"You do?" McCoy peered down at the photo glowing in the tricorder screen, one eyebrow crawling upward.

Unless someone knew the guy was a vampire, no one would be able to tell, except for the eyes. But even dark red wasn't all that out of the ordinary. McCoy had met beings with eyes of all colors. With humans, he disregarded it as a fad, but some had taken to wearing contacts in shades to match their clothing. Others had gone so far as to have their irises dyed.

McCoy felt the procedure was a little drastic for mere vanity's sake, but no one had asked him. He supposed it was no different than those who colored their hair or had cosmetic surgery.

In all his travels, he'd never seen eyes as lovely as Bella's.

Harrumphing at himself, he forced his thoughts back to the question burning in his mind. "Oh?" He struggled to sound and appear as nonchalant as possible. "You know him?"

There was no denying the male vampire would be considered … _attractive_ … being four or five inches taller than McCoy, and having a rather proud, roguish presence in his Starfleet uniform. McCoy returned to his cot across the room from Bella and dropped onto it, setting the tricorder on the bedside table after turning it off.

He idly wondered if Bella noticed the similarity between Garrett's eyes and shirt.

Propping her head on her fist, Bella sighed. "After the farce of the wedding, he just showed up at the reception. And I think Alice only wanted to _do_ a wedding so she could have another stupid party and dress up," she groused. "Anyway, Garrett said he happened to be in the neighborhood." Bella lifted her hands in a _what are you going to do_ motion. Then she burst into laughter. "Alice was _so_ upset because he wasn't in a tuxedo, and he was just _ruining_ her _vision_!" Her hand swept through the air in a graceful arc.

"He was wearing worn out blue jeans and an old leather coat." The laughter ended with another long sigh. "He was introduced as an old friend of Carlisle's who had been accidentally vampirized during the Revolutionary War. _Edward_ ," she said in a withering tone, "wouldn't let me anywhere near him because he had red eyes and was dangerous. Of course, according to Edward, everyone and everything was a danger to me." She rolled her eyes.

McCoy was positive he heard a growl. He found it difficult to believe such a threatening sound came from someone so beautiful.

"I haven't explained things very well. I keep mentioning people and you don't know who they are." Her fingers drummed out a staccato pattern on the table. "You gave _me_ your abbreviated life story. I'll give you mine. I was born in 1987. My parents broke up. Mom took me and left. When I was seventeen, I moved back to my home town. I met Edward, who happened to be a vampire, in high school. We sort of dated and I met his coven. They were pretending to be a human family—none of them are actually related. The cover story when I met them was Carlisle Cullen, and his wife Esme, were the _parents_ of the _foster_ kids—Jasper and Rose were twins, and Edward, Alice, and Emmett were siblings." She shook her head forlornly from side to side. "Some stuff happened. Edward dumped me. Being young and stupid, I let him talk me into getting back together. Then I let him talk me into getting married. I thought I was in love so I finally agreed, and Alice was _off_ to the races!" She flung her hands out, jumped to her feet, and proceeded to stomp across the wooden floor.

More agitated than she had been during the previous bout of pacing, and McCoy considered it wise to stay well out of her way. He scooted to the end of the cot in the corner and just observed, admiring the flashing movements of her hands and the way her hair flowed around her as she did an about face to head in the other direction.

"And it's not like the wedding was even _for_ me—it was all for Edward! They knew I didn't like to make a big deal out of things, and wasn't into showy, expensive parties, but Alice had to have her way!" Bella knelt in front of the potbelly stove and angrily shoved more wood inside. "I was still human at the time, which is why I thought Edward wouldn't even let me _talk_ to Garrett."

Bella snatched a larger log from the stack, and with her bare hands, tore it into strips and threw the thin pieces into the fire.

McCoy was astonished at her strength, but kept his mouth shut.

"I didn't ever really _meet_ Garrett, but he seemed like a fun guy. He was dancing with all the women but me—human _and_ vampire—and laughing and chatting with everyone. Somewhere in there, he was introduced to one of Edward's pretend cousins, Kate, and they hit it off. When Kate and her _family_ went back home to Alaska, Garrett went with them."

Slamming the cast iron door shut, she growled again. "I heard all that after my so-called _honeymoon_ on a tropical island. It was two weeks of Edward doing everything he could to avoid me while trying to keep me busy with stupid chess games he always won, and snorkeling in the ocean, and hiking through the jungle." Fingers pressed to her temples, she mumbled, "Some honeymoon."

Faster than McCoy could perceive, Bella was on her feet. "After two weeks of _that_ , I had enough and told him I wanted to go home. He never even … he wouldn't … arrrrgh!" She shook her fists in the air. "When we got back home, he was trying to put me off _again_. The whole family had to surround him and force him to change me into a vampire, like he _promised,_ so we all wouldn't get in trouble with the … the leaders of the vampires."

She darted across the room and back, halting in front of McCoy. "And you know how in the movies the vampire takes his beloved and bites her in the neck to change her? It's all so very personal and intimate, and kind of erotic but scary all at the same time? No, not Edward! You know what _he_ did?"

As Bella leaned toward him with her fists planted on her hips and a blazing fire in her darkening eyes, McCoy could only gawk at her and shake his head. Her growing fury was making him a little nervous.

"Well, I'll tell you! He, who I stupidly thought was so dreamy and romantic … he took a _syringe_ full of his venom and _injected_ it into me. He wouldn't even touch me to bite me!" In a blur, she twisted around and stalked away from him and toward the door. "Could he have _been_ anymore cold, impersonal, and _clinical_ about it? After I woke up as a vampire, he _still_ wouldn't touch me! He kept trying to treat me like I was made of spun glass!"

McCoy hated to admit it, but he was frightened. If she decided to take her frustrations out on him, there wasn't one thing he could do about it.

After another beat of tense silence, the snapping sparks in her eyes just died and Bella's face fell. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to yell at you. It's not _your_ fault." She spread her hands wide, reaching out toward him, and then snatched them back. "I get so … If Edward wasn't interested, or didn't really like me … I _tried_ to be patient and understanding, and talk to him, but he never listened anyway and didn't want to talk about it. I don't know if it would have made a difference at the time, but he should have _told_ me he wasn't into … a _physical_ relationship. It's not fair. He was more interested in controlling every little thing I did rather than—" She gulped. "Because he lied, I have to spend eternity—" Her hands moved up to hide her face. "And why am I telling _you_ all this?"

Her hands dropped to her sides in defeat. "I'm sorry."

In the next instant, she was gone. The only evidence of her passing was the flutter of the curtains and the slam of the door.

.

-0-0-0-


	11. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 11

10/14/2015

Disclaimer: Derivative work. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

When she disappeared from the room with an almost magical speed, McCoy sat stunned for several minutes. After an unknown span of time, his brain re-engaged, and he contemplated everything she had said and thought he understood why she was so unhappy with her partner … or husband. Ex-husband. Non-husband.

Whatever he was, Bella was _done_.

He couldn't blame her.

Not knowing what to do with himself, he took the wrappings and utensils from the MRE and tossed them into the woodstove. He checked the oil level in the lamp on the table and began hunting for a refill or maybe another lamp.

Finding two full lanterns in the cupboard above the table, along with a couple bottles of paraffin oil for them, and a box of old-fashioned stick matches, he nodded and dusted off his hands.

There were three more MREs, a few tin plates and cups, and four cans of what was labeled as "chicken noodle soup" with "easy open" tops. If she didn't come back for a while, he'd be okay.

Feeling the need to use the _facilities_ , and seeing it was still dark outside, he studied one of the lanterns and discovered it was like the antiques his Granny had when he was a kid.

It took some finagling, but he managed to light the wick in the lantern without setting himself, or anything else, on fire. He pulled on the parka and zipped it up to his chin, recalling Bella had said it belonged to a man named Jasper. Jasper must have been a big boy—McCoy was swimming in it.

Throwing out a plea to the universe there were no slavering, hungry beasts, and checking to make sure the door was not locked, he took his first tentative step outside the cabin and gasped in shock at the frigid air's assault. The exposed skin of his face and hands felt like it was burning.

His excursion to the outhouse would be a quick one! It would have to be if he didn't want to lose any important appendages. If someone had told him all of Hell had frozen over, he'd be hard pressed to argue the point.

Even if he wanted to, and knew where the closest actual town was, there was no possible way his mere human body could endure a trek through the snowy wilderness.

Still too dark for him to see, the bright lantern was a godsend. He gawked at all the wood stacked in close, tight rows on the porch. It filled most of it—wall to porch rail, and up to the ceiling. Bella had been busy while he'd slept. Or had the owners of the cabin readied it for winter?

Where were they? He wasn't sure if he wanted them to show up or not.

Another six or eight inches of snow had fallen, but he had no problem getting through it and around the cabin, thanks to Bella being thoughtful enough to clear a path for him. If she hadn't, he honestly didn't think he would make it.

As he rounded the corner, he realized the cloudy sky was lightening. He also spied what could only be the outhouse—complete with crescent moon cutout in the door. It wasn't too far from a larger wooden building with more firewood stacked beside it. Perhaps it was a small barn or a large shed?

The sub-zero temperatures convinced him to forego any outdoor exploring, despite wanting to know what might be stored within.

The coat was a good one, but it didn't do much for his legs. By the time he finished his business and slapped the outhouse door shut behind him, his body was wracked with uncontrollable trembling, and he could barely walk a straight line.

He nearly collapsed in relief when he made it back inside the welcome heat of the cabin. "My _God_. How can anyone _live_ here?" he asked the empty cabin. McCoy had never been so cold in his life.

After shaking the snow off, he hung the coat on a peg by the door, vigorously rubbed his aching hands together, and peered around the room, contemplating what he could do to keep himself busy.

With nothing else pressing, a search of the attic was called for. Who knew what might be hidden up there?

Thankfully, all that met him at the top of the sturdy pole ladder after his ham-handed climb, were a few cobwebs and some dust. Dim light coming in the windows at each end of the room revealed the sloped ceiling. He hauled himself up with a grunt, taking care to set the lantern to the side. It was no time to have accidents with fire!

He could only stand fully upright in the center. Off to one low side were four cots like the one Bella had put him on. Across the room were three wooden trunks.

Lantern held high, he was greeted with the tangy scent of cedar and several blankets in one. Various metal implements, utensils, and cooking pots were in another. Some of the knives he found appeared to be quite sharp. In the third cedar-lined chest were numerous books of different sizes, pencils and pens, and some pads of paper.

Crossword puzzles would help pass the time until Bella returned. It had been years since he'd seen one printed on paper.

He struck gold in a low cabinet. There were a few more MREs, a box of tea, and even a jar labeled "instant coffee." Thank the stars there were directions written on the side! Though he didn't know if any of the spoons he'd seen could have been termed _tablespoon_ like the instructions called for—he'd have to wing it.

Showing up on Earth in twenty-ten, with no earthly possessions but the clothes on his back, he felt positively wealthy with the soft blanket and word puzzle book tucked under his arm, and jar of coffee in his hand—even if they _did_ belong to somebody else.

He'd have to find a way to repay the people.

An unwelcome sliver of reality intruded. What if the owners showed up and they thought he was stealing from them or had taken up residence?

He didn't know for certain, but he didn't think Bella had permission to be there or she would have said so.

A vague sense of unease nagged at him as he tossed the blanket and book down onto his cot through the square opening in the floor. It gnawed more insistently as he carefully navigated the ladder.

What if she didn't come back?

Distracting himself by stirring up a cup of coffee—that was worse than anything he'd swallowed at the Academy—didn't help with his nerves. Reading up on the Starfleet vampire recruit would be something to do until Bella returned.

If she came back.

Would she just leave him there?

Without a doubt, he wouldn't survive on his own for very long, despite the survival training he'd had in the academy.

Shoving away those discouraging thoughts, he blew out the oil lamp to conserve the fuel. He didn't have the luxury of descending into panic _or_ wallowing in self-pity. He was most definitely in a think-and-survive-or-die situation, and he couldn't afford to lose his head.

To occupy himself, he went over the supplies at hand. For the time being, he had shelter, there was snow for water and bad coffee, wood for heat, and oil for the lamp and lanterns. The tricorder made its own light so he wouldn't need a lantern to read.

Even with the incrementally growing light outside, he couldn't bring himself to do more than lower its flame. After staring into the golden glow for a moment—that reminded him of Bella's eyes—he placed the lantern on the wide sill of the window he'd been staring out of earlier. He knew, with her enhanced vision, she wouldn't need it to lead her back.

Maybe McCoy was the one who needed to see it there.

With a disheartened sigh, he set his mug of bitter coffee on the night table, kicked off his boots, and situated himself on the cot, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders. Flicking on the tricorder, he began to read all the information Starfleet made available about Bella's race.

He ignored the loneliness that settled into him for the first time since he'd unexpectedly arrived. Bella was obviously upset and just needed to work off a little steam. Of course, she would come back.

Right?

.

-0-0-0-


	12. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 12

10/19/2015

Derivative work. I make no money.

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

McCoy nearly threw himself to the floor when a thunderous boom jarred him from sleep.

Wisps of out-of-focus dreams of holding a beautiful girl's cool hand, and smiling amber eyes, were torn away as he glanced wildly around the darkened room.

Was the ship being fired on?

Disoriented, he fumbled for his tricorder, its small screen glowing next to him.

No alarms were sounding. No one was reporting to battle stations.

He wasn't _on_ the ship. _Bella_ had brought him to a cabin, saving him from certain death in the frozen wastes.

On _Earth_.

What if something was trying to get in? He had no weapons to defend himself. _Why_ hadn't he brought some of the knives down from the attic?

Because he was a doctor, not a mercenary, and it had never entered his mind. Kirk and Spock wouldn't have been caught so flat-footed. On an unfamiliar world—and Earth in twenty-ten certainly was—it would be completely illogical not to have some sort of defense.

Sadly, no one had ever accused McCoy of being logical.

Visions of being surrounded by roaring grizzly bears and snarling timber wolves filled his head.

The best he'd be able to do would be to throw the tricorder at whatever it was and hope he hit it.

Blocky instrument held firmly to his chest, he huddled in the corner and tried to decide if he should make a break for the attic. A bear wouldn't fit through the square opening. He would be hidden, _and_ he would have the knives.

The door being flung open put an immediate halt to all thoughts of escape.

A hooded, human-shaped silhouette filled the doorway. The faint glow from the still-burning lantern didn't cast enough light for McCoy to make out more than that.

Much larger than Bella, McCoy felt his impending doom. Was there _any_ chance the coat made the person appear much bigger than he actually was?

Icy fear gripped McCoy's insides, and he held the tricorder even more tightly, his hands shaking.

If it was going to be the end, it was a darn shame he didn't have his boots on.

Appalled at his mounting fear, he shook himself. It wasn't a grizzly, it was only a man! McCoy was a Starfleet officer and trained for that sort of thing! He'd follow protocol, offer a greeting and, if he was attacked, _then_ he'd throw the tricorder. He wouldn't go down without a fight, boots or not.

Pleased to have a plan, McCoy cautiously cleared his throat and tried to speak as steadily as possible. "Hello. My name is Leonard McCoy."

There was no return greeting or any response at all. The man merely shifted just enough to reach for the edge of the door and quietly push it closed. The impossibly loud click of the latch was enough to send McCoy's already thumping heart into high gear.

The only exit from the cabin was blocked—unless McCoy could leap through a window. The problem with that strategy was the coat Bella had loaned him was across the room.

Shivering with fright, or maybe the cold that was let into the cabin, McCoy gingerly reached for the blanket and tugged it up his chest as if it would offer some protection.

As much as he longed for Bella to return, he prayed she wouldn't make an appearance yet. He was feeling oddly protective of her, even after reading about how indestructible vampires were. She could take care of herself. Regardless, he didn't think it would be wise to let the stranger know someone else had been with him.

McCoy took it as an encouraging sign that there'd been no bloodshed yet.

Maybe the person didn't speak English. All McCoy could do was give it another shot, sticking to as much truth as possible.

Was the newcomer the owner of the cabin, or was he also lost? Could he have been a thief looking to rob the place?

McCoy wasn't getting any sort of clue as his face was still hidden by the fur-trimmed hood.

The truth it would be. Mostly.

"I was lost and freezing." McCoy gulped. "It was snowing. There were wolves nearby." Though he had no idea how far he'd been from the cabin when Bella found him or how long he'd been asleep after Bella had brought him there. He should have asked her.

Since it was dark again, he'd obviously slept the day away.

Squirming slightly under the silent perusal, McCoy felt a twinge of guilt. "I needed shelter."

Incrementally, he was feeling less tense, until the intruder stepped farther into the room and pushed back the hood, revealing pale skin and hair lighter than his own.

McCoy didn't know who he had expected, but a white man hadn't been his first choice.

The man tugged off his gloves and stuffed them into his coat pockets. He unzipped the heavy parka, pulled it off, and hung it on another hook by the door. After a quick brush of Bella's coat with his fingertips, he slowly turned back and glided to the chair Bella had occupied and sat down. He leaned back, resting his left arm on the table and propping his right ankle on his left knee.

Something about the stranger's fluid and utterly soundless movements sent another shiver of fright streaking up McCoy's spine.

Determined not to display his unease, McCoy studied him and just waited. The man looked young. He was wearing boots, blue jeans, and a grey University of Alaska Fairbanks sweatshirt. Could he have been a student there?

The clothing seemed completely ordinary to McCoy, for the time he was in, but he still fought to suppress a shudder. Something about him made the hair on the back of McCoy's neck stand straight up.

It had to be because he hadn't said a word.

McCoy locked down his muscles to remain still.

His fingers were beginning to feel the strain of his death-grip on the tricorder, and he loosened them one by one.

If he was the cabin owner, why hadn't he said anything? Chastised McCoy for breaking in and making himself at home? Demanded an explanation?

Despite the young man's unthreatening posture and completely calm expression, McCoy was more than a little intimidated.

When the man blinked, McCoy gasped and nearly choked on his own air. His instincts were screaming at him to run for his life.

The intruder had golden eyes like Bella! He was a vampire!

There was something in the report about a vampire's eyes changing colors, but damned if McCoy could remember—he was too busy trying to crawl up the wall backwards.

"Bella—where is she?" the man asked in a low, quiet tone.

Even with a voice as decadently rich and smooth as his granny's dark chocolate butter-cream frosting, McCoy's stomach dropped to his feet and his heart became jammed somewhere up around his Adam's apple.

How had he known she'd been there?

It could only be the non-husband. He'd tracked her down at last.

Spending time and talking with the most beautiful girl he'd ever met would be a good memory to take with him into the afterlife—if there was one.

How ironic to travel to parts known and unknown throughout the universe, meeting all sorts of beings of every imaginable shape and configuration, only to end up dead at the hands of a jealous husband.

Resigned to his fate, McCoy accepted his impending, possibly very painful, death. He regretted not even holding Bella's hand, but it had been fun while it lasted. His last days had been well-spent.

Wasn't his life supposed to flash before his eyes? All he could conjure up was an image of Bella nervously twisting her fingers together in her lap and looking up at him through those long, dark lashes. Her bright, shining eyes as she spoke about the way that Edward guy had treated her. Her disillusions and disappointments. Her broken heart.

Anger overtook his fear. It boiled up through him from the pit of his belly and his teeth clenched. He was a crewman on the starship _Enterprise,_ and they never just rolled over and gave up!

He realized he was standing on the cot and the tricorder was still in his hand.

Doing the only thing he could think of, he threw it.

.

-0-0-0-


	13. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 13

**Disclaimer** : Derivative work.

10/27/2015

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

Effortlessly, the uninvited guest plucked the tricorder from the air just before it would have smashed into his face.

"There's no call for that," he reprimanded McCoy, and his golden eyes dropped to the glowing screen. With one finger, he tapped it. One eyebrow rose and his piercing gaze pinned McCoy right to the wall.

Standing on the cot in his sock feet, in the corner, McCoy felt decidedly vulnerable and exposed.

He couldn't remember shutting off the tricorder before he had fallen asleep. The report on the lone Starfleet vampire recruit would still be visible. With the speed at which vampires could read, the unknown male would be finished in seconds.

If that was Bella's non-husband, he was being a little too composed. McCoy had had the distinct impression the fellow was a little high strung.

Sweat broke out on McCoy's upper lip. His harsh breathing was the only sound in the dim room, and he struggled to get it under control. He wondered if the vampire could hear his heart hammering in his chest as well as McCoy could hear the wind picking up and whistling around the eaves.

He flinched when the tall stranger, after several long moments, gently placed the tricorder on the far side of the table and returned to his previous position, resting his arm on the table top.

"An article on vampires." The male tilted his head a fraction. "Judging by your reactions, I'd say you know what I am, so you know you can't escape me. Have a seat."

McCoy's legs turned to Jello and refused to hold him up any longer. He slid down the rough wall to the cot. Under the large male's emotionless regard, a chill crept over his body, raising prickly goosebumps over every inch of skin.

There had been something in the report about the blood drinkers being able to stun or incapacitate their victims with their scent and voice. Bella's voice had certainly dazed him a few times, and her natural perfume had rendered him speechless. Was that what he was doing? Was McCoy about to become dinner? Was it possible _every_ hair on his body was standing straight up?

The man … vampire … had made no threatening moves, and McCoy doubted he'd even see it if he did, so why was there a shrieking voice in his head urging him to run?

Something about the seemingly relaxed young man simply exuded murder and mayhem. McCoy clutched at his uniform over his heart because it rammed repeatedly against his ribs like it was trying to make a jail break.

"I know she's been here." The intruder's head tilted slightly the other way. "Where is she?"

McCoy's jaw flapped a few times before he could stammer out, "How … how …"

Raising his head, the vampire's eyes narrowed to glittering slits. "I can smell her. Just as I can smell your fear."

He didn't think it was possible, but McCoy's heart tripped and took off at warp speed. It wouldn't surprise him in the least if it exploded. Fuzzy charcoal grey blobs danced and swirled around the edges of his vision. Unconscious oblivion would have been very welcome about then. He'd heard of people dying of fright, but had never seen it. He was about to witness it firsthand.

The already shadowy room was growing dimmer. If every muscle in his body hadn't gone as taut as violin strings, McCoy knew he'd collapse in a boneless heap. At least he wasn't blubbering like an idiot.

Bella had saved him a couple days before—or was it three? Those last moments with her were some of the best of his life. Her laugh was the song he would carry in his heart until its last beat.

 _Which should be any minute now._

Closing his eyes to shut out the visitor's glare, he longed for one last look at the warmth and caring concern that radiated from Bella's golden eyes—so unlike the malevolent yellow of the creature across the room.

In time with each harsh breath, Bella's name was a whisper of yearning through his mind and his very soul.

He would be forever grateful for the time spent with the earth-bound angel, because that was what she had been to him. To honor her, he would meet his end as bravely as he could.

A mighty crash and a rattling slam shook the entire cabin, and McCoy startled but didn't bother to look. The last images he wanted to see were Bella smiling and laughing; her embarrassment when she asked him if he was an insane asylum escapee; pulling off her parka and wrapping it around him, and then filling the little wood stove to keep him warm. Her voice would be the last music he ever heard.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

A Heavenly chorus of one with an undertone of Hellish rumbling asked.

McCoy would recognize that voice anywhere. It was seared into his brain. His eyes popped open. Standing between him and the Instrument of Death across the room, was an avenging Angel of Mercy with deep brown hair, and wearing blue jeans and a green sweater.

She sparkled. Or maybe that was snowflakes caught in her hair and on her clothes. It didn't matter. She was exquisite, and McCoy had never been so happy to see anyone.

But what if she was hurt? No, Bella would be able to handle herself.

The terror that held his muscles so tight he thought the ligaments would rip from the bones, released him, and he sagged into himself. The constricting iron band around his chest was gone and he sucked in a lungful.

The angel glanced at him and back to the Pale Horseman casually lounging in her chair. "What did you do to him?"

Eyes as inky black as the pits of Hell flicked to McCoy and back to Bella. "I didn't touch him."

While he was desperately trying to resupply his oxygen-starved brain, McCoy would have sworn he felt the vibrations of Bella's growls traveling across the floor, through the cot, and into him.

Her head dropped back and she aimed a frustrated, "Arrrgh!" at the ceiling. "You are such a _jerk_!"

McCoy began to suspect the visitor was not the back-to-school-shopping ex-husband. However, they did seem rather well acquainted as the blond demon didn't appear to be insulted.

Gesturing wildly at McCoy, Bella spit out, "I can see you didn't _touch_ him, but I could hear his heart racing a quarter mile away! You know you could have given him a heart attack?"

"Yes."

"Of _course_ , you did. I could just _smack_ you," she ground out through her teeth. She took a deep breath through her nose, blew it out through pursed lips, and angrily crossed her arms.

With the heated glare she sent him, McCoy wondered briefly if the unrepentant scoundrel would burst into flames.

"How did you find me?"

One disdainful eyebrow rose. "Really, Bella?" A glimmer of a smile teased one corner of the male's mouth. "Anyone who bothered to pay attention could see you were going to blow. I gave you a two-hour head start. I'd have caught anybody else later that night. Emmett? I'd have had him in fifteen … twenty minutes tops." The frigid wastes of his eyes melted into a smoldering umber. "It took me _five days_ to catch up with you. You did well."

"Yeah, yeah." Bella brushed away the compliment with a dismissive flap of her hand. "Not well enough to keep you from _finding_ me." Then her body grew rigid and her hands curled into fists at her sides. "You led them right to me," she accused.

"No," he vehemently countered.

Palm pressed to her forehead, Bella inhaled deeply. When she removed it, she attempted to give McCoy a smile of reassurance. "Leonard, I guess I should introduce you to one of my former associates. Jasper, this is—"

"He told me his name," Jasper rudely interrupted in a voice as frosty as the weather. "Former associate?"

McCoy peered suspiciously at her non-brother-in-law. Bella calling him a jerk had had no effect—why take issue with being called a former associate?

"Yes," Bella hissed. " _He_ doesn't listen, so I'm done talking. I'm not going back, and _you_ can't make me."

"I wasn't going to suggest it."

Obsidian eyes drilled into McCoy, and he gasped, feeling, once again, like he was being examined under a microscope and some sort of heavy restraints locked him in place.

"Stop it!" Instantly, Bella was beside him on the cot, shielding him with her body. She took hold of McCoy's hand, but was glowering at Jasper. With another growl, she warned, "Don't you even—"

Jasper coolly raised a hand to halt her warning. "I'm not." His laser-focused scrutiny dropped to their hands. "So, what is this? He followed me home, can I keep him?"

.

-0-0-0-


	14. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 14

11/08/2015

Derivative work. Obviously.

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

"Leonard is not a … a _puppy_!" Bella sputtered, releasing McCoy's hand and springing to her feet. "I know what it feels like to be treated like that and wouldn't do it, so don't you even insinuate it. He was freezing to death and there were wolves nearby! What was I supposed to do? Leave him out there?"

She stomped over to the potbelly stove and started shoving more wood into it. "Everything was fine, then _you_ showed up. And don't think I don't know what you were doing—being all creepy, menacing, creature-of-the-night and shit." She slammed the little door closed.

"Channeling your inner Emmett?"

Bella spun around and pointed a finger directly at him. "Don't start your crap with me, Jasper. You're not funny."

"You can let go now." Jasper's tone remained serenely smooth as she stalked toward him.

She hissed at him as she proceeded to light the oil lamp in the center of the table and waited to adjust the flame to brighten the room.

McCoy was beginning to agree with Bella about Jasper being a cad, and he started watching them more closely.

He'd been the odd man out on a few occasions throughout his life and was getting that impression again. They did have a history with each other—had been friends. Bella had mentioned Jasper teaching her to defend herself—he was obviously a mentor. But was there more?

One could learn a lot by just observing, and he came to the conclusion the two subjects were closer than just in-laws. Or non-in-laws. Whatever they were to each other.

Jasper's dark eyes flicked to McCoy but he directed his comments to the irritated vampiress standing stiffly in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest. "You never liked it when we _talked behind your back in front of you_." One brow arched upward as he rebuked her. "How do you think _he_ likes it? Besides … he knows." Jasper tilted his head toward the tricorder sitting innocently on the table.

"What? What do you mean _he knows_?" Bella glanced guiltily at McCoy and back to Jasper.

Despite the intrigue of their cagily worded half-conversation, McCoy's annoyance was growing. "Know about what?"

Jasper's gaze slid from McCoy to Bella. "Didn't you read the report? What have you two been talking about? Those people know about vampires and are already aware that some have enhanced … _powers_. Garrett really gave them an earful."

"But you said we weren't supposed to talk about—"

"He already _knows_ ," Jasper interrupted her, stressing each word.

"No, I didn't read it. I didn't ask," Bella answered quietly. "I was worried about him because—"

Time for McCoy to insert himself into the conversation. "Because she thought I escaped from an institution." He almost chuckled. Since Bella had returned, and seemed to be able to handle the large male, he was feeling so much better! Adding a touch of humor would help to lighten the mood, as well.

Bella cocked her head at him. "You _did_ say you were from the future. That only happens in movies."

"I can't deny I'm having trouble believing it, but the report has details only someone in the know would have." Jasper's lightening eyes returned to examine McCoy. "They know there are vampires that can read minds, see the future, cause pain …" He looked at Bella from the corner of his eye. "… have shields."

"Feel and manipulate emotions?" Bella asked in a sing-song voice as her eyebrows rose and she waggled her head at him.

"Yes. They just don't have names." Jasper gave her a slow blink and shrugged. "Names change. Except Carlisle uses his own too often. Are you going to let me go now?"

McCoy couldn't figure out what the brute was talking about. She hadn't laid a hand on him. "Bella, what does he mean?"

Bella huffed, pulled out the chair across from Jasper and dropped onto it. With one finger, she traced around the edges of the tricorder. "I've been holding him in the chair because I have a shield. It's like a force field in a science fiction movie, except I guess they're real in the future. You mentioned them when you were telling me about Garrett."

"She's the most powerful shield I've ever heard of," Jasper added.

Bella bared her teeth at him, and then smiled prettily at McCoy. "Alice gets visions of the future. Or the future she wants to see. She never tells you the whole thing. Edward can read minds but only what you're thinking about at the time. That's probably the main reason he was ever interested in me. He can't read my mind unless I let him. _Jasper_ can feel and influence emotions, and I suspect he was doing that to you before I got here. I can block them all."

Realization made McCoy's eyes bug out. "You … you were making me even more afraid than I already was?" Jasper really was a jerk! "You were trying to induce a heart attack?!"

"It's yet another way to incapacitate. Enough fear will cause someone to freeze," the ass replied. "It's rather effective."

Bella growled lowly. "I'm not letting you go until you promise not to do that to him again. Leonard, I have my force field around you. Mr. Emo Vamp can't affect you anymore."

Jasper grunted. "Settle down, _Leonard_. She's protecting you. She can also use it to keep others from getting close to her, or hold them—like she's doing to me." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I _promise_ I won't give him a heart attack." After a moment, he rubbed at his stomach. "Thank you. She's quite adept at it. Pin-point accuracy."

"I had lots of practice with Emmett ambushing me all the time," Bella grumbled. "But only when Edward wasn't around because it was _inappropriate_ for Emmett to tackle me. It wasn't like he was going to hurt me." She stared up at the ceiling. "It was good practice, even though it was aggravating, and I don't _care_ what Edward thinks." She dropped her head and pressed her fingertips to her forehead and sighed. "Leonard, I'm sorry I wasn't here. I had to work off a little stress and thought I'd hunt while I was out."

"It's okay, Bella. I understand. Everyone needs a little … alone time to think things through." McCoy couldn't resist a small smile. He was relieved she was safe and well, and _so_ glad to see her again. Not to mention being grateful—she had saved him again. He knew, without a doubt, the churlish male wouldn't have felt a twinge of remorse if he'd died.

"I saw the fresh clearing you made." After eyeing McCoy again, Jasper folded his arms over his chest. "I'm surprised you put up with Edward as long as you did."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I _did_ make a promise to him, whether it was _legal_ or not. He refused to fulfill his to me—it relieves me of mine. He wouldn't even talk about it. I've had it."

Jasper grinned and gave her a nod.

Leaning over to look down at his feet, he asked, "How are you going to tell him without your phone? Unless you're going back."

Bella also glanced down at the phone dust still on the floorboards. "Oh, you noticed that. I'll get another phone eventually. It's not like I need to call home. Big girl and all." She pointed at herself. "And I _said_ I wasn't going back."

"He's not there anyway." Jasper reached into a pocket and pulled out a new phone. He set it by the lamp. "He decided to track you. He headed south to your hometown, of course."

"Ug," Bella groaned. "Why would he think I went there? Like Emmett said, Edward can't find his butt with both hands and a flashlight."

"Because the false trails you left easily confused him. He hit one going south and didn't bother to look any farther." Jasper pushed the phone across the table. "You _did_ remember to pull the sim card before crushing it?"

"I might be slow, Jasper, but I'm not _that_ slow." She reached for the phone and snatched her hand back as if it would burn her. "Who has the number?"

"Only me."

Bella nodded. "I'll look at it later. Thanks." She faced McCoy. "I'll have to clear the path again because it snowed some more." She grabbed the bowl from the table and hopped up. "I'll get some more snow for water, too. Do you want something to eat? You should eat."

McCoy blinked and she was at the door. Intellectually, he knew they were fast, but knowing it and seeing it were two completely different things. He'd probably never get used to it.

Then what she was implying sunk in. Embarrassment about having to use the _facilities_ again brought a flush to his face. Though he was damn glad he hadn't humiliated himself by losing control of his bladder when her _friend_ was terrorizing him. "I'll help you with that," he offered.

"No." Jasper stood from the table. "I'll help. We wouldn't want the old man to have a heart attack shoveling snow."

"Jasper!" Bella spun around, eyes wide. "What is _wrong_ with you? Old man? Look who's talking. You're a hundred and sixty-six years old!"

She glided across the floor toward McCoy. "It's fine if you want to come outside with us. I don't know why Jasper's being such a jerk." She gave the smirking vampire the side eye. "But we _can_ clear a path faster. You can bring in some more wood. Jasper, do you have gloves? Give them to him." She did an about face and headed for the door, pointing at the cupboards. "Bring a lantern so Leonard can see."

"Wait a minute." McCoy could ignore the rude jab at his age, but he couldn't seem to wrap his mind around the ill-mannered vampire's age. He didn't look over twenty. That Garrett fella had been older, but McCoy hadn't met him. "How old _are_ you?"

Having taken a lantern from the cupboard and lighting it, Jasper went to his coat, took the gloves from the pockets, and tossed them at McCoy. "I was born near Houston, Texas in 1844. It was1863 when I was turned. Bella is also counting the years I was human."

"He was a Major in the Civil War. And I count those years because they count—we're still alive. It's just a different form." Bella had already returned with a bowl full of snow. "I always hated how Edward said we were dead."

"But you are alive," McCoy told them. "Bella's absolutely right. You're just another type of life." McCoy held the gloves to his chest after pulling on his boots. He didn't feel quite brave enough to approach the door until the ancient, irritable veteran had gone outside. He wasn't so sure he felt up to facing the cold again either.

Bella went to McCoy and patted his arm. "That's what I think. We can discuss life, the universe, and everything when we get back inside and you have something to eat. Break it down to high school level. I haven't gone to college a dozen times like some geezers around here."

.

-0-0-0-


	15. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 15

11/17/2015

Disclaimer: Derivative work.

 **A/N** : Why, yes, the answer to life, the universe, and everything *is* 42.

* * *

-0-0-0-

.

After the arduous, and near life-threatening, trek through the night-time, wintry landscape to the outhouse, and hauling in more firewood as Bella had commanded, McCoy had been more than ready for another nap curled up in his borrowed blanket. He'd even considered moving the cot closer to the little stove. Once again, he wondered how humans could live in such a snowy, cold place. Shivering in the beyond frigid air left him feeling exhausted.

Bella noticed his strength was flagging and cajoled him into eating the chicken noodle soup. Not that she'd threatened him or anything, but she had gone to the trouble of digging out a few of the cooking pots from the attic and heating it up for him. How could he refuse her? As soon as he took the first spoonful, she disappeared into the attic again.

While she had been rummaging around in the attic, oohing and ahhing over some of the books, McCoy had sat uncomfortably on his cot, eating his soup, as the blond Warlord across the room eyed him like he was the next thing on the menu.

Or maybe that wasn't it … _exactly_. Bella, evidently, had quite a high regard for the man and had urged him to tell McCoy about some of his past. What little he heard sounded like utter Hell. McCoy had been in some battles in space and on various planets, but the shadows in the vampire's golden eyes as he glossed over his long history told McCoy volumes more. He'd seen those same dark clouds in the eyes of others. There were times he saw them in his own when he looked in the mirror.

He felt a certain kinship with the former Confederate Major. McCoy could never understand the nightmare of fighting other vampires for land, but he knew what it was like to be under fire, fearing for your life and the lives of others—to have shipmates brutally taken. To do everything in your power to save someone who was wounded, and still lose them.

As Bella bumped and shuffled around above them, mumbling to herself, McCoy finished his dinner—or was it breakfast? He sat the bowl and spoon aside and wrapped the blanket more tightly around his shoulders. Bella respected and admired the vampire sitting at the little table, and McCoy could tell he felt the same about her. Why else would he have let her order him around?

Maybe it was for the same reason McCoy did, and he wasn't even exactly sure of the motivation himself. All he knew was he felt strongly for her and his life was richer for having met her. Of course, he was alive simply because she had raced into it.

Jasper slowly lowered his head and blinked as if he was agreeing with him.

Was he able to read minds, too? No. Bella had said he could feel emotions. A vague sense of unease washed over him. As long as Jasper was around, he'd have to guard his thoughts and keep a check on his feelings.

Jasper raised his eyebrows and nodded at him.

A quilt landing on the floor with a thud disrupted the wordless communication between them, and McCoy wrenched his gaze from Jasper's.

There was more to that vampire allure than McCoy had realized.

Bella dropped from the hole in the ceiling, grabbed the blanket from the floor, and shook it out. "Brought down another. This cabin is insulated really well, but there's a front coming through. It'll only get colder."

"Colder?" McCoy groaned. "How can it possibly get _colder_?"

"This isn't even the worst part of winter yet. Lived on space ships too long?" Bella asked with a gleam in her eye.

"Maybe I have," McCoy replied, knowing she was just teasing him. "Humans—most humanoids—tend to prefer more temperate climes."

Bella tucked the colorful patchwork around McCoy and sat at the foot of the cot, toeing off her boots and drawing her legs up. She wrapped her arms around them. "That quilt is so pretty. I'd like to learn how to do that. And I have plenty of time now!"

Her enthusiasm brightened the whole room.

"Speaking of time … like Jasper said outside, age doesn't make a whole lot of difference to vampires." Bella shrugged. "Carlisle is more than three hundred years older than Esme, and they are _perfect_ for each other. Should they break up because he's older? Edward being almost a hundred years older than me didn't make him more mature. He just went to school more than I did." She dropped her forehead to her knees. "I really don't want to talk about Edward right now."

"Bella," Jasper began quietly, finally breaking his silence. "I would remind you that, very often, what humans experience before they are turned has quite an impact on their … personality after they become vampires. What Edward has told you about his human life are the things that were strongest and clearest in his mind. He had dreams of being a hero in the war. Then people all around him, and his family, were struck down by the flu. First his father, then his mother, died right in front of him. He was ill, fevered, delirious—on the point of death—when Carlisle changed him."

"I know that," Bella mumbled into her legs.

"His thoughts on the war were impossibly _romantic_. He was a child dreaming of adulation and ticker-tape parades. Of course, he couldn't know what war actually entails. Then his safe little world came crashing down around him."

"I understand that's why he would be clingy and controlling." Bella peeked at Jasper over her knees. "But that doesn't explain …"

"Edward's entire focus was on the _glory_ of war. He wanted his father to be proud of him. Why do you think it's so important that he never disappoint Carlisle?"

McCoy inelegantly cleared his throat. "If you two want to talk privately, I … I can go outside." He started to unwrap himself from the blankets.

"No, Leonard. You don't have to do that." Bella reached out and put her hand on his arm to stop him. "I babbled enough already. You must have figured out Edward wasn't a _real_ husband to me, and I made a mistake in marrying him before I knew him better. Jasper is trying to make excuses for Edward being uninterested in me."

"Not excuses. Reasons." Jasper tilted his head. "He might be a brooding romantic, but—"

" _You're_ defending him?" Bella asked in disbelief and lifted her head, a dark frown coloring her face. "I should suffer because he's asexual due to daddy issues?"

.

-0-0-0-


	16. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 16

Derivative work, eh.

* * *

11/26/2015

-0-0-0-

.

"Er … no." Jasper stammered, slightly taken aback. "That's not what I meant."

"I should go back to the boy who acts like a prison guard and be … _unhappy_?"

"No. I'm not saying that, and I'm not defending him. As long as I've been with them, he never showed any romantic interest in anyone. Were you attracted to anyone before you were introduced to us?"

"Well … not really. There _were_ some movie stars."

Jasper just sighed and blinked at her. "I believe he was like that before he was turned. Keep in mind, there is a _broad_ spectrum of what constitutes _normal_ , and like vampires, no one human is exactly like another. Mike Newton was a normal boy, as were Ben Cheney and the others. You were a teenage girl, like Jessica Stanley and Angela Weber. Were you as excitable as Jessica?"

"No," Bella muttered and picked at her nails. "She thought almost _every_ guy was hot."

"I rest my case." Smugly, Jasper folded his arms over his chest. "Edward should have been honest with you and should have talked to you—not made promises he wouldn't or couldn't keep. He's had opportunity to do so. You have a long life ahead of you. You need to do what will make you happy. Staying with him, you would both continue to be miserable. It's no way to live. I know."

"I got it, Jasper. It's just how he's wired. Being a vampire, it's not like he's a candidate for hormone therapy, even if he would consider it. It's not his _fault_ —he just _is_. But it _is_ his fault for not warning me. We're obviously incompatible." Bella dropped her head into her hands.

" _Warning_ is not the correct terminology."

"Okay! Jeez! You and your psychobabble." Her hands flew up, fingers spread wide, and she glared at him. "It's his fault for ignoring the _issue_ and refusing to talk to me for five years!"

"Yes." Jasper gave her a nod. "But who knows what the future may hold?" His attention returned to McCoy, his intense features smoothing out to an impassive mask.

Bella missed Jasper's loaded look because her hand was spread over her forehead again. "I don't need an overprotective, stifling, controlling _daddy_ either."

Still gazing at McCoy, Jasper added, "He does care for you."

As before, McCoy felt as if he was a smear in a petri dish. The empath was making him nervous even though he had promised Bella he wouldn't try to influence McCoy's emotions. A change of subject was in order!

"So, tell me …" McCoy cleared his throat and scooted back against the wall. "What flu? What war?"

"World War 1." Bella patted his knee and a sad smile curved her lips. "It was the Spanish Flu epidemic back in nineteen-eighteen. Edward had recently turned seventeen. His father died, and then he and his mother caught it. Carlisle was working as a doctor in the hospital they were taken to. His mother begged Carlisle to save him just before she died. That had to have been so, so sad." She stared up at the wood plank ceiling. "Ironic that a little tiny bug like the flu virus killed so many people."

A knowing look crossed over Jasper's face. "Yes. Ironic. Speaking of … since Bella hasn't read your report, _Doctor_ McCoy …"

"What?" Bella asked. "Do vampires catch viruses and get sick in the future?" Her brows drew anxiously together.

"No, Bella." McCoy reassured her. "What Jasper is subtly hinting at is, essentially, your vampirism was caused by a virus."

"So, what you're saying is the flu killed Edward then Vampire Flu killed him again? Along with lots of others, including us?" Bella gestured between herself and Jasper. "We're germs?"

"Uh, no." McCoy dropped his head, trying to hide his amusement. He took a deep breath to get his facial expressions under control. "From the samples obtained from your friend Garrett, it was learned the venom from his mouth acts like a virus on live human blood. You said keep it at a high school level?"

She quickly jerked her head up and down in agreement.

"Basic biology is survival of the fittest."

Bella nodded again, encouraging him.

"Here on earth, and a lot of other places, it's not survival of the _individual_ ; it's survival of the _species_. Beings have to live long enough to reproduce so their species continues. If they reproduce, they've done their job."

"But vampires can't have babies and most vampires refer to themselves as dead."

"Maybe I didn't start in the right place." McCoy pushed the blanket from his shoulders. "You're not dead. Or _undead_. There are many—countless—forms of life throughout the universe that are more different from each other than you can imagine." He lifted his hand toward her. "Sexual reproduction is not limited to species on earth, and it's not the only way to pass on genetic information. There is asexual reproduction, and multiple variations of that. The vampire virus attaches to, or joins with, human cells, starting with the blood, and changes them. They multiply, move through the body, and convert the remaining cells. It's thought that is what causes the reported pain. In the right conditions, they reproduce themselves." McCoy ran his hand down his face. "After studying Garrett, the researchers hypothesized that the vampire virus, as you call it, came from somewhere else—it may not be from Earth."

Bella stretched her legs out over the edge of the cot, and leaned back against the wall. "Like from a comet or something?"

"It's just a possibility. A similar type of organism hasn't been found by us, or anyone we know of, in the Federation. Or, it may change so drastically in the human, we may have discovered them and just don't recognize them. Oh, the Federation is a group of allied worlds. It's like the United Nations here now. Not all planets are in the Federation. There are vast areas of space that have not yet been explored, and there are others who are not so friendly. Yet."

"So, we're aliens." She was staring at some point across the room.

"Yes and no. There are …" McCoy was struggling to find the right term and not be insulting—especially to the large male vampire across the room.

"You can say _creatures_ , Leonard." Jasper smirked at him. "Bella, even going to high school only once, you must have learned there are all kinds of creatures, animals, plants all over the earth, and some are damn strange. Alien-like, you might say."

"Like Giant Tube Worms in the ocean. They're pretty weird. Emmett and I watched a show …" Bella held her hands up stopping the thought. "Nevermind."

McCoy let out a little nervous cough. "It's not known why your venom only reacts the way it does to human blood and not the blood of other mammals, birds, reptiles, insects … or plants." He raised a hand in a puzzled motion. "It could very well be a virus from here that was dug up from somewhere or exposed during some sort of volcanic eruption, but the favored theory is it's extraterrestrial." He clasped his hands in his lap. "Going back to survival of the fittest, this particular virus needs a host—specifically human blood—to survive and make more of itself. It's a symbiotic relationship."

"Like the bacteria in human guts that help them digest food?"

"Yes!" McCoy grinned enthusiastically. "Instead of helping the host to thrive, reproduce, and ensure the survival of the species as a group, it makes sure the _individual_ survives, creating the epitome."

"Top of the food chain," Jasper volunteered.

As Bella frowned at him, McCoy bobbed his head. "Yes. Top of the food chain." He rubbed his hands together. "Even though it ensures the survival of the individual, it can reproduce. It does that by—"

"Infecting another human." Bella didn't look happy at that thought.

"In a manner of speaking … _yes_." He leaned toward her. "That's how it does it here—on Earth. It doesn't mean you're not alive yourself. Your cells were altered—not destroyed. On the planet Janus VI, there's a rock that's alive. When we went to investigate human miners being killed, we found she was the last of her species and protecting her eggs or children. We worked out a treaty between her and the human colonists there. She was a _living_ boulder." He sighed. "Another idea the researchers put forth is, like earth viruses, it changes in each individual. If you make another vampire, he or she is your offspring. It's thought, like with the common cold virus, its lineage may be able to be traced back. The virus changes the human, the human changes the virus. They'd need quite a few more samples of venom in order to prove that."

Bella's mouth dropped open in shock. "Are you saying Edward is my _mother_?"

.

-0-0-0-


	17. The Girl I Left Behind Chapter 17

Derivative work. Like you didn't know that.

Also posted on BetterinTexasFiction. They get it first. Then AO3 and TWCS.

* * *

Words: 2375

Chapter 17

03/26/2016

-0-0-0-

.

"Bella, no." Jasper spit out. "It's not like that. You're thinking in human terms. _Sire_ might be a better word for it. Maker or progenitor. It would be less—"

"Icky." Bella shuddered. "That would mean Carlisle is Esme's father, and that's just … I don't even want to think about it." She ran her hands through her hair and turned to McCoy. "Why don't you go get some more venom from somebody? You know about vampires."

"It's one of our highest laws that we not interfere with other species or beings," Leonard explained. "Unless there's another volunteer, we're to leave them alone—keep their secret. They are observed, even though they are surprisingly good at hiding themselves, but there's no interference. It's like a world within a world."

"But … but they _kill_ people!" Bella jumped up from the cot, arms spread wide.

"As highly as we think of ourselves, humans are no more worthy of life than any other life form. Except for bacteria and viruses that cause disease." McCoy raised one derisive brow. "We kill _them_ all the time. Even where and when I'm from, people still eat pigs and chickens. I've been known to enjoy a nice, medium rare piece of cow on occasion. What beings do on other planets would _really_ curl your hair." He sighed and shook his head sadly. "Even in my time, humans kill more humans than the vampires apparently do. People are murdered, others just disappear. Are those the acts of vampires or of other humans? Some vampires allegedly perform a _service_ of a sort—depending on how you look at it. There are those who take it upon themselves to be vigilantes and go after criminals. Or that's what Garrett said." He ran his hand over his head.

Jasper drummed his fingers on the table and tilted his head slightly. "One can't choose another's morality or decide another's culture is wrong even if it might not agree with your own or meet with your approval. As long as they don't try to force their views on _you_ —right, Bella?"

Guardedly, Bella narrowed her eyes at him. "Or morals ingrained in the time period they were human?" She dropped onto the cot again and flipped her hair to her back.

That was a sore spot with Bella. McCoy couldn't blame her. Uncomfortably, he cleared his throat. "Anyway, a substitute for human blood is being developed. It's not perfect, but it's close. It can be used in an emergency, but you can't replace a human's total blood volume with it. They still need real blood. As much as we've learned, there's still so much more."

"So that's not the right food for Garrett?" Bella absently braided a strand of hair, lost in thought. "What does he eat?"

"Donated blood," Jasper answered. "Drinking from a container can't be very satisfying, though it would be better than animal blood. Human drinkers feed less often than animal drinkers. Even in the future, I doubt there's room on the starships for herds of animals to feed him."

"And less humans eat meat," McCoy supplied. "Then there's the problem of housing the animals, feeding them, cleaning up the waste …"

"Bodies _and_ poop," Bella interjected thoughtfully. "And if his favorite is mountain lions, like _somebody_ I know, I don't think people would go for that."

The disparaging look shared between Bella and Jasper made McCoy feel he was missing the joke, so he just grinned and nodded at her. "Precisely."

"There _is_ the challenge of the hunt—thrill of the chase. The biting into the flesh." Jasper's wistful gaze drifted to the ceiling as Leonard's eyes widened. "We seem to require it. Maybe it's a need for the physicality of it. Though it says in the report Garrett had opportunity to fight and spar with others. Humans wouldn't have survived it."

"Er, if you think about it, it's really no different than humans or others participating in sports or other games of competition. People still love their football." Regaining his composure, McCoy clasped his hands in his lap. "His training partners could have been robots or aliens. It doesn't specify. That part of the report is classified."

"Almost like he's a secret weapon." Bella bolted upright. "They're not using him as a weapon are they?"

"Bella, I don't know where he's stationed or what ship he may be on. It doesn't even say specifically what he does, but his picture shows him wearing Operations red. He could be in security, tactical, engineering … I doubt he's being used as a weapon." McCoy shrugged. "He'd be a good tactician. He thinks as fast as a computer, but he has the mind of a human that can make intuitive leaps that no computer is capable of. The human mind has the gift of taking seemingly unrelated bits of information, somehow combine them, and come up with near miraculous solutions to problems. That's a touch of magic that can't be recreated. Hunches can't be programmed." McCoy raised a finger proudly in the air and gave them a self-satisfied smile. "Machines still can't beat the human mind."

"Even when the mind has been altered, or perhaps influenced or overtaken, by an unknown virus?" Jasper asked.

"Even still. The vampire virus didn't ensure that you were able to survive long enough to create and nurture offspring that would be able to adapt to or survive your environment, it ensured the success of each individual. In a nutshell—if you have the potential to live for several thousand years or longer, and there's nothing out there that's more dangerous than you are, there's no real need for offspring to fill the niche your species inhabits. And who's to say the common cold virus, which we _still_ haven't eradicated, hasn't done the same thing?" McCoy wasn't going to let Jasper deflate his mood. Technology might solve a lot of problems, but the human mind came up with the technology to begin with—not without its own snags and glitches. They advanced even further with a little help from the Vulcans and other races. Of course, humans shared their knowledge with others, benefitting everyone.

Bella's hands dropped to her knees. "Until something else comes along that's bigger and badder than earth vampires." Jerking one shoulder up, she said, "So far, that isn't a problem. That we _know_ of. And who knows what sort of predator may have been hunting the vampires on the planet they came from? _Maybe_ they were the equivalent of chickens or cows here on earth."

"Chickens, Bella? Really?" Jasper crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side, acting like he was insulted. "Reducing us to a mere chicken nugget? Way to make me feel small and insignificant."

"With the inflated sense of importance _some_ vampires have," Bella batted her eyes at him, "being knocked down a peg or two isn't a bad thing." She smiled widely and waggled her head at him. "The big baddies could all be dead. Their planet could have exploded and tiny little pieces of it ended up here. If any of the vampire-eating monsters … _regenerated_ we probably would have noticed by now."

McCoy slapped his knees and started unwrapping the blankets from around his body. "On that cheery note, I think I'll make another trip out to the facilities." He was hardly embarrassed at all that time.

"Okay. I'll make you some more soup." Bella hopped up from the cot and went to the cupboard above the table, reaching over Jasper. Finding another can, she frowned. "This one doesn't have a pop top." She pinched the rim of the can and proceeded to peel it away from the can, opening it.

McCoy just stared at her, his borrowed coat only halfway on. After everything he'd read, he really had to stop being astounded by her strength.

Bella poured the gelatinous mass into a small saucepan and turned to go to the wood stove. "Leonard, are you okay? You should take a lantern. It's still dark."

Dazedly, he nodded and shrugged the coat up over his shoulders.

"I should get to a store and pick up some more food for you." After adding a bit of water, she set the pot on the wood stove. "It wouldn't be right to use up all the MREs, and I really think you should eat more."

Sighing, McCoy just nodded at her as he zipped the coat, tugged the hood more tightly around his head, and took the offered lantern. Bracing himself for the frigid blast, he went through the door as quickly as he could, slamming it behind him. After that foray into the frozen wastes, he knew he'd need a nap. It just seemed to zap all the strength right out of him. He probably _should_ eat a little more. Getting lost in space and time had dampened his appetite.

-0-0-0-

Jasper waited quietly, watching Bella stir the soup and hum absently to herself. He knew cooking was one of the things she missed about being human.

Hearing McCoy curse the elements as he made his way around the cabin, Jasper unfolded his arms, re-crossed his legs, and leaned on the table.

"Bella, what are your intentions regarding the human?"

She blew out an annoyed breath. "You mean _Leonard_?" She eyed him icily over her shoulder and turned back to stirring the soup. "The human? Is that how you referred to _me_ when I first showed up?"

"Yes, but you know that, and you're avoiding answering the question."

"I … I don't know." She tapped the spoon on the edge of the pan. "I could probably get him to the closest town fast enough so he wouldn't freeze, but what would he do there? He's from the _future_. I doubt he has a current driver's license. He's got nowhere to live, he doesn't know anyone. I doubt he has any money—American or Canadian."

"All things I could take care of." Jasper spoke softly. "He could have a new name and identification within days. We could get him a place to live, and pay for it, until he finds a job. We could take him south to his home state of Georgia, if he wanted, and set him up there. No more snow. You wouldn't have to be burdened with taking care of a human." The corner of Jasper's mouth curved upward when Bella peeked at him again.

"He's _not_ a burden," Bella protested, placing the steaming pot on the table. "Um, I don't … I want—" she stuttered, frustrated.

"How about what _he_ wants?" Jasper's left eyebrow crept upward. "He may not be able to go back to his own time, but I don't think he'd want to stay here in the great white north. I suppose you noticed he's not fond of the weather."

"I did happen to notice that. I never liked it much as a human, either." She sat across from him, resting her elbow on the table and propping her chin on the heel of her hand. "I don't really know what I want to do. I suppose it would be a good idea to ask him what he thinks."

"I already know you want to stay here with him." Jasper smirked knowingly and looked at her from the corner of his eye. "And I bet if you asked him, he'd want to stay with you."

She opened her mouth to argue, but he held up a hand to stop her. "Don't try to deny it." He nudged the tricorder closer to her. "You have some reading to do."

She frowned at him.

"I'll tell you what I'll do. After you make a list, I'll go to the store for you, so you won't worry about him here alone with me."

A small growl escaped Bella. "Who said you were staying?"

"I didn't."

Bella snapped her mouth shut, realizing she'd just outed herself and reaffirmed Jasper's unsubtle suspicions. She _did_ want to stay there with Leonard. She even felt a bit of resentment because Jasper had intruded on them. He must have felt it. She nervously drew random swirls and lines on the table top with her finger, refusing to acknowledge the smug look she knew would be on his face. He was always so good at interpreting emotions, even those that were quickly suppressed. One would think _he_ was the mind reader. In fact, he was often much better at reading people than Edward was.

She didn't even know what she wanted to do. The only thing on her mind when she'd run from the Cullens was to get as far from Edward as she could before she did to him what she did to his piano, and keep him from finding her. Then she'd run across Leonard freezing to death, and what her next move might be hadn't even entered her mind. She'd been fascinated by her guest from the future.

Jasper abruptly stood from the table. "McCoy's on his way back. I'll get your groceries." He disappeared through the opening to the attic and reappeared with a small note pad, dropping it on the table along with a pencil. "Start your list." He tapped it with one finger. "I'll take my leave after I bring back supplies. I expect the _former associates_ are beginning to wonder where I am."

Instantly annoyed, Bella nearly growled again. "You _had_ to bring _that_ up didn't you?"

Ignoring her indignation, he grinned at her. "Of course. Though I imagine they're more concerned about you." He sauntered toward the door and reached for his coat. "When I come back, I'll leave this here with you. If you and Leonard decide to go anywhere, you'll both need coats."

"You won't rat me out, right?" Bella asked anxiously. "What if Edward is back? He'll hear where I am in your head."

"Please." Jasper rolled his eyes and shot her a disappointed look. "You know better."

Hearing muffled complaints and curses outside, and McCoy stamping his feet on the porch, Jasper reached for the door knob. Before opening it and allowing the grumbling man to enter, he winked at Bella. "Don't worry. _All_ your secrets are safe with me."

.

-0-0-0-


End file.
